Call Me Thine
by Aerophin
Summary: She's got men aplenty, but she only needs one of them to be a father to her child. — ShikamaruIno


"It's not going to change no matter how hard you look at it."

Raising his head at her sharp words, Shikamaru frowned, wondering why she had brought this to his attention. Wasn't he just one notch on a string of boys she saw? Why him? There was no feasible way he was the most important on her list.

Shikamaru straightened, lifting his forearms off his knees, tossing the pregnancy test onto the table. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face, and sighed. Across from him, Ino tightened her told on her legs, drawing them even closer to her chest. She closed her in eyes in trepidation. This was it. This was the moment she had been dreading. Would he yell? Berate her for her foolishness? Chide her for being so irresponsible?

But he said nothing.

She peeked at him, studying his solemn face, wondering when he would crack. What would happen? What could he say?

If he were Tahiro, he'd have frozen solid, unable to look at her. He'd stammer an apology and bolt as soon she had her back turned, his clumsiness alerting her to his getaway when he tripped over the flowerpot in her hallway.

Yuta, green-eyed Yuta who serenaded her with foreign love songs, would've denied everything, from the existence of the child to their five-month affair.

Riku, on the other hand, would've been overjoyed. He'd attempt to hide a face-splitting smile, and throw his tan arms around her in ecstasy. He'd always loved children.

She'd imagine Masaki would've taken the news with his usual stoicism. He was never one for outward affection, but he was dependable and resilient, and shouldering the burden of a child born out of wedlock would do nothing to further tarnish his reputation as an ex-missing-nin recently pardoned by the Hokage.

In her mind, Ino could clearly see the reaction of each of the numerous other men that could've fathered her child. But Shikamaru—

Shikamaru, her childhood friend with his brown eyes that only softened for her, who welcomed her into his arms at night without question, his dark hair spilling over broad shoulders she hadn't noticed when they were genin—

There was no telling what he do. And perhaps that was why she came to him, and only him, with her news.

She fidgeted under his intense gaze, knowing he was running through scenarios in his head, calculating the percentage that his child was his, and she believed without a doubt that he would throw her out of his home without a second thought. She closed her eyes again, letting her head fall onto her knees, wondering why she was so _stupid_, why the thought of Shikamaru knowing how much she cared for him scared her to pieces. If only she hadn't throw herself at every man that walked her way in an effort to convince Shikamaru (and perhaps even herself) that he and his love certainly didn't mean as much to her as they truly did. She let out a small cry, and hoped with all her being he hadn't heard her.

Shikamaru stared his old teammate down, contemplating the chances that Inoichi wouldn't lock her up for the rest of her life. There was no doubt in his mind the only reason she had approached him was because he was a family friend, someone to be used as a liaison between her and her father, a buffer for Inoichi's anger. Ino was a thoughtless, reckless girl, and now she had a terrible problem she wished him to solve.

Was she trying to pass him off as the father? Shikamaru was far from stupid, and she knew this; the whispers of her numerous affairs with multiple men were much louder than she possibly believed, and he wasn't to be fooled. But then, this was Ino, his female teammate, the beautiful face of Team Ten, the girl who had irrevocably stolen his breathe and heart unknowingly in one glance when they were younger, and she had him at her beck and call without even realizing it. He sighed, knowing he would help her, stay by her, and be the father to her child until she sent him crawling away on his hands and knees when a better opportunity appeared.

For now, he would scold her and make her squirm and fidget with fear before giving her his everything.

"How long have you known?" he asked her, his voice icy.

Ino stiffened at the abrupt sound of his voice in the silent room. "Um, a few days." Her voice was thin, and small.

"Who have you told?"

"N-no one else, yet."

"What do you plan to do?"

"I…I haven't—"

"Can you even afford to take care of a child?"

"I think—"

"Do you even know how to care for a baby?"

"Well, my mother—"

"Did you even think about what you parents will do when they find out?"

"Shika—"

"How could you be so careless?!"

"I know!" Ino shrieked, standing from her seat, her hands balled into fists. Shikamaru's eyes widened at the sight, taken back. "I know!" she hissed again, her voice cracking, hands shaking. "You don't need to tell me something I already know!" Her voice was quaking, and she wiped at her eyes angrily. "I've already beaten myself down for the past three days. I don't need your anger or your pity," she spat, settling back in her seat, still wiping at the tears that she refused to shed.

Shikamaru was speechless at her outburst. Here he was belittling her without thinking of what she must be doing to herself. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe apologize, maybe admit his quick jump to judgment, but he could find no courage to acknowledge his mistake.

Instead, he said, "How far along are you?" the words nearly catching in his dry throat.

She didn't meet his eyes, instead choosing to stare at her twiddling fingers. "Two months, I think," she said after a moment, her tone lackluster and bare, as if drained of her strength and vivacity.

"And you think I'm the father?" He was almost afraid of her answer.

"I…" she paused, frowning at her hands. Should she say it? "I want it to be you." And she closed her eyes in shame, because there was no way in heaven or earth that Shikamaru, strong, gentle Shikamaru, would ever agree to be the father of someone else's child, to help some wench find her way through parenthood, or sacrifice himself for the reputation his old teammate. There was no reason for him to.

Shikamaru's world spun at her words. She wished him to have fathered her child? He, her lowly friend from childhood? She had the pick of Konoha's men at her fingertips, and the one she chose had been at her back the entire time? He moved forward, and grasped her hands in his own.

She lifted her head in surprise, mouth agape in astonishment.

"If you say the child is mine, then it is mine," he said simply, staring intensely into her baby blue eyes.

She sputtered. "But, I have no idea who—"

"If you say the child is mine, then it is mine," he stressed again, and the full meaning of his words crashed upon her. Unbidden, her tears began to flow in earnest, and she threw herself onto him, knocking him onto the floor.

She sobbed into his chest, the heavy weight of the past three days lifting off of her, and lay on his prone body, knowing he was more than she could ever hope for. Shikamaru cradled her in his arms through the night.

Seven months later, Ino gave birth to a sandy-haired, green-eyed boy, but his lazy tendencies left no doubt as to who his father was.


End file.
